After years in Formula 1, John went off to work as a technical consultant and engineer and more recently was involved in Moto GP. Ran B3 Technologies for some years, but announced he was leaving them as a director in 2008, and they went bust shortly after. Now works in the furniture industry, where he designs carbon-fibre based furniture. Barnard was one of the most innovative designers of his era, being largely responsible for the semi-automatic gearbox and carbon fibre composites. Barnard initially worked for General Electric before joining Lola as a junior designer responsible for sports cars and Formula Vee cars. As well as his Formula 1 work, John also spent many years in Indycar race car design.